Shape of the Dairy Cow.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 153, 6 May 1909, Page 4

Shape of the Dairy Cow.

The work of the dairy cow has made bcr what she is. She is, in a certain sense, an artificial product, and during the many years through which she has been developing she has taken on a form which is distinguishingly characteristic. Her large barrel, chest development and big udder were not sought for in and of themselves. The dairy cow has been developed to produce milk. Her ability to do that is her reason for her existence, and high milk producing powers have given her the definite dairy shape—the large barrel to enable her to consume large quantities of feed; the developed chest to give bcr great heart and lung capacity,insuring a vigorous circulation of rich, pure blood; and a large udder to enable her to draw on the blood stream and appropriate the vital fluid in large quantities for secreting milk in abundance. It is essential that the organs having to do with the milk production should have be well developed if the cow is to have any claim for dairy superiority. Her body is the base of the wedge tapering from rear to fore, and from back line towards the ground.

Every observer of the dairy cow well knows the value of succulence. Good pasture is the ideal feed for her, not because of its composition wholly, but because of its succulence; but in a greater part of the country this is not available except for a very short time.

It is most essential that no sour slops or food be given to the sow, or diarrhoea will almost invariably appear among the piglings.

The rubbing in of a little pure lard or vaseline into the skin of the teats will readily cure any superficial soreness or roughness. Warts on teats may be cured by the application of cator oil once or twice a day after milking.

Owing to the shortage of cornsacks the railway returns of grain carried over the Southand section of the railways is much below last year's totals. Much of the threshing will be delayed for about a couple of months owing to this shortage.

The science of oat-growing is being very elaborately developed by Professor McAlpinc from the experiments on different varieties of this cereal carried out for some years by the west of Scotland Agricultural college. Two reports by the Professor have just been issued, one relating to dressed grain, and the other to its components. One of the most important points, so far as growers are concerned, is that as to the selection of seed, because the hcavest oats often come from a very poor crop, the ears of which bear the grain singly, instead of in couples or triplets to be found in prolific crops. Therefore it is pointed out the marks of good seed oats are (I) proper weight per thousand seeds, and (2) assurance that they are the produce of prolific ears.

The Cow Testing Association formed among the suppliers of the Fremont, factory which has been carried on for the past year, has proved so satisfactory that it is to be continued. Many of the suppliers express themselves as being quite astonished at the poor showing so many of the cows made. It is always so wherever the test is established, so that it is recorded, "some refuse to have their cowo tested for fear they will find how poor they arc.**